| London's Multimodal Approach |
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Howard Tenens has served the paper industry in the UK for many years and offer their customers cost effective logistic solutions no matter what the logistic problem. This has meant embracing a broad spectrum of transport modes and the establishment of strategic sites across the UK designed to take links out of the logistic chain and reduce cost. Recent developments have included a link up with EWS offering rail services and with Hutchison Ports to provide direct from port (port-centric) delivery of goods from Felixstowe.  Howard Tenens Barking Warehouse with rail car being loaded Rail did not feature greatly in the logistics services of Howard Tenens until the day that freight rail operator EWS invited the company to work in partnership at the Barking freight terminal in north-east London. Howard Tenens has built its reputation on operating logistics services based on regional distribution centers and a sizeable truck fleet. But the availability of Stora Enso’s former purpose-built rail terminal presented an ideal opportunity to develop Howard Tenens’ business in the populous London and south-east England region. The company moved into the terminal with EWS one year ago, and has been fully operational for the past six months. What Howard Tenens are running is unique in the British forest products sector: a multi-customer inland terminal with rail connections to Europe through the Channel Tunnel. It also has another claim to fame: the longest rail-connected warehouse in Britain; at 400 metres, it can accommodate 20 railcars. A key part of Howard Tenens role with EWS, which is Britain’s biggest rail freight operator, is establishing routes and brokering solutions between the customer and rail operators across Europe. Right place, right time Last year, Howard Tenens seized the opportunity to work with EWS and expand their operations through Barking rail freight terminal. This new dimension to the business accords with their basic philosophy of developing value-added logistics services that complement Howard Tenens’ network of regional distribution centres elsewhere in the country, delivering economies of scale to their customers. The Barking terminal was opened in the early 1990s, primarily to handle newsprint that arrived direct by rail from Stora’s Feldmühle mills in Germany, and for Swedish product shipped from Gothenburg to Immingham, and then railed to Barking. After Stora and Enso merged in 1998, the company dispatched a daily train to Barking from its base port at Zeebrugge, Belgium, and trains also arrived from the company’s newsprint mill at Langerbrugge, near Gent, Belgium. Storage capacity is in the region of 20,000 ton on 15,000 sq m (13,000 sq m in the main warehouse, and 2,000 sq m in a neighboring warehouse). Channel Tunnel  Howard Tenens specialist handling equipment Railing product through the Channel Tunnel is proving to be highly efficient and includes such benefits as speed (overnight from the near Continent), and reduced damages through the elimination of intermediate handling. Another gain is greater potential for cross-docking and just-in-time delivery within the supply chain. There is no shortage of end users in the vicinity of Barking: most British national newspapers print their south-east England editions at plants within a few kilometers of the terminal. The terminal is only about 15 km by road from the Port of Tilbury, while other Thames terminals and the Medway ports lie within a short driving distance. Act of faith EWS needed a pro-active partner with a reputation for handling forest products plus nationwide coverage within the UK. Howard Tenens operating agreement with EWS is in essence that they sign customers prepared to rail product to the depot which benefits EWS. The two companies then manage the logistics, including storage and distribution, together. Howard Tenens have now secured significant volumes from several paper manufacturers on a weekly basis supplying the UK. They have marketed this concept to their customers, and successes have already been achieved following tests with the operation prior to implementing contracts. Port-centric logistics Howard Tenens and EWS have taken over the Barking terminal at a time when logistics in the UK is under increasing pressures for cost efficiencies. There is a marked trend towards port-centric operations and a growing use of rail. At the root of this shift is a rising influx of containers that is crowding ports.  The ports, eager to speed throughput, are applying the sanction of higher demurrage, yet importers have to balance this cost against the risk of overloading their inland distribution systems. |